Agent Bronze—Ryu Jaekwan—stood in a corner of the room, keeping any signs of restlessness off his expression.
The room where the final successful candidates gathered. Several rounds of announcements had already called out the names of those who had passed, and most of the prepared seats were now occupied. But…
'Why isn't he here yet?'
As successful candidates were steadily called in and took their seats, the one person he had no choice but to pass still hadn't arrived.
'Kim Soleum!'
His number had already been called three times!
– Candidate #4 from Group '다 (Da)'.
– You have passed. Proceed to the designated location.
If that announcement repeated one more time, his application status would be put on hold.
It would be considered an automatic forfeiture.
'Why in the world…'
He had gone through the entire aptitude test—only to give up now? Even Ryu Jaekwan himself found it incomprehensible. The frustration was starting to eat at him when—
Thud!
"I-I'm so sorry!"
The door to the already nearly full room burst open, and a man stumbled in, his face flushed bright red.
He was gasping for breath as if he had sprinted all the way here, and his suit sleeves and collar were dripping wet.
[다-4]
The candidate who had been one call away from disqualification. Kim Soleum.
From the looks of it, he had splashed water on his face out of sheer nerves.
…If he were really a spy, would he go out of his way to draw this much attention to himself...
'Damn it!'
No. No leniency. Ryu Jaekwan pressed his lips shut, maintaining an unimpressed glare.
– Take your seat.
"Y-Yes, sir…"
Kim Soleum adjusted his glasses and quickly shuffled to the farthest back corner, sitting down quietly.
A candidate beside him hesitated before speaking up.
"Are you okay? Here, take this…"
"Ah, n-no, I'm fine! Thank you…"
At the kind offer of water, Kim Soleum startled so visibly that Ryu Jaekwan, knowing his true background, could see it all the more clearly. Like someone who had spent too long among corporate cultists in an immoral pharmaceutical company, where basic human kindness was an alien concept…
"..."
Ryu Jaekwan said nothing. He simply watched.
– We will now begin the appointment process.
The Disaster Management Bureau's Agent Appointment Ceremony. It was a simple, streamlined process. First, register funeral arrangements in case of death. Then, receive a temporary identification pass. A brief training orientation shall commence, and after that, there will be an overview of assigned missions.
There were no bureaucratic formalities like in the public sector, nor did it have the rigorous military training of special forces.
Because supernatural disasters—horrifying, unearthly anomalies—were not something any amount of training could prepare an agent for. Only experience could forge resilience.
And most recruits were people who had lost family or loved ones to mysterious, unexplainable incidents.
Even those who hadn't suffered personal losses carried a grim sense of duty —the unshakable knowledge that they had glimpsed the hidden world and could never turn back.
That atmosphere saturated the room.
– Candidate #4 from Group '다'. Kim Soleum.
"Th, thank you, sir."
Kim Soleum bowed slightly as he accepted his temporary pass. Looking at him—his timid, withdrawn demeanor—it was clear that if someone with his personality had chosen to apply, it could only mean he had an unshakable resolve.
Though, of course, there were also a few eyes filled with skepticism, as if wondering if he was just unqualified instead.
– For the next three weeks, you will undergo training and supervised field assignments.
– At the end of this period, your permanent division placement will be determined.
– Until then, follow the instructions of your assigned senior agent without exception.
This was when the interviewers appeared.
Each one stepping forward to take direct responsibility for the recruits they had selected.
That was standard bureau policy.
Although, in cases where a match wasn't ideal, existing senior agents could also be assigned instead.
But at the very least—for 'noteworthy' recruits, the original interviewer was almost always the one assigned as their mentor.
And in Kim Soleum's case…
Thanks to the subtle support and recommendations of the assistant interviewers—
– The agent standing before you will be your direct senior.
– They will oversee your training for the next three months.
Ryu Jaekwan stepped in front of Kim Soleum.
"…!"
From behind his glasses, Kim Soleum's face went deathly pale. The exact moment he recognized him.
"Follow me."
"..."
Ryu Jaekwan could hear the quiet footsteps of Kim Soleum, his newly assigned recruit, trailing behind him.
Then, as they entered an unmaintained, isolated room in a desolate corner of the aptitude test facility, leaving only the two of them inside—
Rustle.
"…!"
He heard the sound of something being pulled out.
'A weapon?'
Ryu Jaekwan's hand moved instinctively, ready to subdue him—
"Um, Agent."
"..."
"I… wanted to return this."
It was…
The temporary agent badge and pistol.
The very items that had been given to Temporary Agent Grapes during the Sekwang Technical High School incident.
Things that, in the chaos of the situation, even Ryu Jaekwan himself had forgotten about.
"I should have returned them earlier, but I never had the chance. I apologize, sir…"
"..."
Ryu Jaekwan studied Kim Soleum.
If he had just kept his mouth shut, no one would have known. And yet, here he was—turning himself in, looking as if he had already accepted the worst possible outcome.
As if he were fully convinced that the agent standing before him would report him as a corporate spy for that pharmaceutical company.
…Ryu Jaekwan's initial wariness simmered down.
"Does that company know you're here?"
A slow shake of the head.
"No, sir."
How could he possibly believe that—
"As far as the company is concerned, I'm already dead…"
"…!"
What?
"What do you mean—"
"I was trapped in a Darkness—uh, I mean, a Disaster—for over a month."
Kim Soleum's face turned slightly pale.
"Once it's been over a month, they just assume you're dead. So, as far as the company is concerned, I'm already a deceased employee—or rather, a former employee."
"..."
They finalized an employee's status as deceased without even attempting a rescue?
Ryu Jaekwan was momentarily at a loss for words at the sheer brutality of that system.
But then, another realization struck him.
"You were trapped in a supernatural phenomenon for over a month?!"
Kim Soleum, still with his head lowered, gave a small nod. It felt like a hammer had struck the back of Ryu Jaekwan's skull.
'No way…!'
His gaze swept over the other man again.
This was someone who had once been neat, composed, meticulous. Yet now, he reacted to everything around him with quiet, careful hesitance. Like someone who had been… irreversibly changed by a long, harrowing period spent inside a nightmare.
"Don't tell me… you did it on purpose—"
"No, sir."
Of course.
Who in their right mind would willingly choose to be trapped in a ghost story for over a month?
Especially someone who had already experienced such incidents firsthand while working there.
"But after I got out, I didn't report back to the company… on purpose."
"...!"
Ryu Jaekwan responded instinctively.
"Because that was the only way… to leave quietly—without 'causing any problems'?"
"..."
Kim Soleum took a deep breath—then, at last, nodded.
"Yes."
Liar.
Daydream Inc. was the kind of place that would cheerfully wave goodbye and say, 'Dobby is free!' if someone wanted to quit.
It wasn't that they wouldn't let you leave.
It was just that no one ever did—because it meant throwing away every point they had painstakingly accumulated.
"I don't regret it, sir."
But to Ryu Jaekwan, an agent unaware of how the company truly functioned, the situation seemed like a textbook case of a cult escape. A victim of psychological trauma, PTSD, gaslighting, who had suffered so much that he had to fake his own death just to escape…
"Um… I mean, I know I can't stop you if you decide to report me, but… Please, just don't make it public knowledge, sir…"
"..."
He was afraid of being tracked down by Daydream Inc.
Ryu Jaekwan realized it immediately.
But outwardly, he didn't show it. He only pressed further.
"What about your 'wish'? That was why you worked for them, wasn't it?"
Kim Soleum, still looking down with his head hung, let out a small, hollow chuckle.
"That… doesn't matter anymore."
"...!"
"Something happened while I was working there. The progress I had built up for my wish was completely reset."
"..."
"That's when it finally hit me."
Daydream Inc.'s Wish Ticket system did grant wishes.
But the company could decide, at any time, to deny an individual their reward.
Completely at their own discretion.
Unreasonably and unfairly.
"That I had been throwing my life away, working indefinitely in that nightmarish place for something that could be erased at a moment's notice…"
Ryu Jaekwan gritted his teeth.
The words 'I told you not to believe in that nonsense about wishes' almost slipped out, but somehow or another, he held them back.
"Ah! Don't worry. Since I've already been officially declared dead… I can't accumulate performance points or withdraw anymore anyway."
The bitter smile slowly faded from Kim Soleum's face.
What remained was emptiness.
"And once that happened… I didn't have anything left to do."
"..."
"So… I remembered the business card you gave me and applied to the Disaster Management Bureau."
Then, he shrank back slightly.
"…If that offended you, I apologize."
Suddenly, Ryu Jaekwan felt as if he had been pressuring someone for something completely unreasonable.
A guilt that settled deep in his chest.
It was the kind of guilt one might feel if, after rescuing a civilian from a supernatural disaster, that same agent grabbed the civilian by the collar and demanded a detailed explanation of what had happened to them. Here was a victim who had tried, against all odds, to live morally despite the circumstances. The guilt of psychologically cornering someone who had barely escaped from the immoral grip of a corrupt company…!
During the interview, Ryu Jaekwan had singled him out, going as far as putting him under excessive scrutiny? And even now, he had called him in separately and was practically interrogating him?
On top of that, Kim Soleum had already lost everything—his goal, his affiliation, even the one thing that had kept him tied to that company.
Ryu Jaekwan thought,
…And yet, perhaps with some expectations, Kim Soleum still chose to come here.
The kind of work the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau did— protecting citizens from supernatural disasters, ghosts, unidentified lifeforms, and unknown phenomena—was the complete opposite of what Daydream Inc. stood for.
Given their past encounters, if Kim Soleum had entered this agency with even a sliver of hope or a sense of purpose—
'Then…'
Ryu Jaekwan clenched his fist.
'He's not about to punch me, is he?'
I stared, cold sweat forming, as Agent Bronze's hand clenched into a fist. I had said everything I needed to.
'Seems like he's buying it.'
So why the hell was he making a fist?!
I kept my head down, keeping my face carefully neutral, and waited in silence for a few seconds. And then…
Bbee-bee-bee-bee-beep!
"…!"
The watch on Agent Bronze's wrist suddenly let out a blaring alarm.
"…Wait here."
"Yes, sir."
Phew.
'So that's why he clenched his fist.'
Click.
The moment Agent Bronze stepped out the door, I let out a long sigh and sank to the floor.
Haa.
'The only time I've ever lied this hard to a good person was during a game of mafia…'
And now, I was deceiving a civil servant so I could spy on a government agency.
I was sweating bullets. At this rate, I might be able to take a bath in my cold sweat.
But the important thing was…
'He believes me, right?'
It seemed like he did.
I took note of how Agent Bronze had gradually spoken less and less, how his gaze had shifted into something almost sympathetic.
As long as that sympathy wasn't the kind reserved for criminals on their way to a high-security cell, then 'Candidate Kim Soleum' was no longer under suspicion.
'Perfect.'
I wiped the cold sweat off my temple.
They say a great scam is 90% truth and 10% lies—
And, unintentionally, I had kept that ratio quite well.
…For the record, neither of my fellow spies who infiltrated the Disaster Management Bureau had to go through this mess.
– Director Ho, about my fellow batchmates who…
– Oh, they've already entered.
– ...
– Until last month, we had a direct recruitment pathway into the bureau, so they got in right away.
…In short, I was the only one who had to take the official entrance exam. Which meant, I had to suffer through this entire ordeal alone.
Haha…
Go Yeongeun, Jang Heoun… I don't know where you've been assigned within the bureau, but please…
Just relax, enjoy yourselves, and if things go south, please… please come save me.
'I'm begging you.'
Was it selfish to hope my batchmates were safe and comfortable purely so I could use them later?
Maybe.
But right now, the only thing that mattered was—
'Where exactly am I getting assigned?'
It wasn't too hard to figure out.
I crossed my arms.
Let's see—based on the , the three main divisions that Disaster Management Bureau agents were assigned to after completing their three-week probation were…
'There are three major units.'
Simply put, these are the three main stages of handling supernatural disasters.
First.
1- Preliminary Investigation Unit
: A reconnaissance team that analyzes newly emerging ghost stories, assesses their progression and threat level, and reports findings.
Their job is to track down rumored ghost stories, both online and offline, and categorize them.
Of course, unlike Daydream Inc., they don't just throw agents into a disaster site and force them to create a manual on the spot, as they do with members of the Field Exploration Team. Instead, they gather information and conduct investigations as safely as possible.
'This really makes me realize just how insane my old job was…'
Then again, I'm still technically working there—as a spy, no less.
…That's depressing. Let's not think about it.
Anyway, next was the second one.
2- Dispatch & Rescue Unit
: A rapid-response task force that answers civilian distress calls when they've already been caught in a supernatural disaster or urban legend.
Basically, a rescue team.
They'd jump into the middle of a supernatural disaster, right when things were at their most terrifying, and pull people out.
It's the most dangerous assignment, but at the same time, it's considered the core of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau. It's the most respected unit in the agency.
'And their mission reports are the most entertaining to read, too.'
But… this is not what I'm aiming for.
'I've had enough excitement.'
I could experience thrills vicariously just fine.
The one I'm targeting was…
3- Site Cleanup Unit
: A post-disaster team responsible for restoring an affected area after a supernatural incident, ensuring that civilians remain unaware of what happened.
Basically, the cleanup crew!
Like crime scene cleaners, they'd go in after ghost stories had been resolved or sealed and restore the site. They were also in charge of handling documentation.
That means, I'd be in charge of registering and organizing documents! This was the best role for gaining access to classified supernatural records, including those on the specific phenomenon that Director Ho mentioned.
'And for someone who's already read the , this is basically free real estate.'
It would be as easy as editing a wiki page.
Relaxing. Enjoyable. No sudden death threats.
And most importantly…
'I only go in after all the scary shit is over!'
In other words, it's the least terrifying unit to be assigned to. For the first time, I could finally work a government job without breaking into cold sweats…!
Can you hear that? The sound of my quality of life skyrocketing!
And getting assigned there is simple.
'For the next three weeks, I just need to act passive and show that I have a sharp, analytical mind.'
If I emphasize classification, documentation, and organization—basically, skills suited for research—I'll be a perfect fit.
And, hasn't it become obvious now? This perfectly aligns with the character I've been playing!
Even better, my senior agent already knew I had past experience with supernatural incidents.
And he also knew about my suspicious background.
'I managed to talk my way out of it, but if there's still any lingering doubt, they'll stick me in a paperwork-heavy role.'
Agent Bronze seemed competent.
And there's no way a rational agent would expect an ex-employee of a deranged pharmaceutical company to be put in charge of saving people!
"Huu."
With a quiet sigh of relief, I got to my feet.
Just in time, the agent returned.
Thud.
"Kim Soleum-ssi."
Ah, he's probably going to tell me to go home now…
"Take this."
Thuk.
Before I could react, something was tossed into my hands.
'An identification pass?'
It looked like an access badge—but I had already received one earlier during the appointment ceremony…?
"New recruits are usually assigned to a unit after completing three weeks of training in pairs."
I knew that.
But I had no way of expecting what came next.
"However, I've taken the liberty of assigning you to a unit myself."
"..."
Excuse me?
"From this moment forward, you're in the same unit as me."
"..."
Wait.
If Agent Bronze's unit is…
I had a terrible feeling.
I flipped over the badge I was holding—
Agent (β)
Name : Kim Soleum
Assigned Unit : Dispatch & Rescue Unit, Black Tortoise Team 1 [1]
"As of this moment, you are part of Black Tortoise Team 1."
"..."
No…
NOOO!!
"Coincidentally, we've just received a rescue call. We'll be entering a Disaster zone immediately to extract civilians from the scene. Follow me."
"..."
My persuasion check landed a nat-20 in the weirdest place!
Note/s:
[1]
Black Tortoise (현무) – one of the Four Gods of East Asian mythology, representing the water element, the directional north, and the season of winter. It is typically depicted as a tortoise intertwined with a snake. (source: Wikipedia, NamuWiki).
Read more about it over here https://en.namu.wiki/w/현무 and here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Turtle-Snake